Today, we are living in an era where the age-old meaning of Successful Social Entrepreneur is changing rapidly. Given the scale and scope of challenges that are affecting society at a macro level, we are witnessing the birth of a new form of business person who combines both profitability and goodwill: a social entrepreneur.
Yes, social entrepreneurship has emerged as a force of change that believes in using profits, products, and services for the betterment of society and tackling issues like global warming, climate change, pollution, clean energy, poverty, hunger, pandemics, etc.
Social Entrepreneurship
A business model that combines profitability with social change – is on the rise across the world. With more and more young and aspiring entrepreneurs and start-ups turning towards the same, it is important to not simply follow the trend. At the end of the day, becoming a successful social entrepreneur requires one to establish and follow certain proven principles in a patient and phased manner. In this blog, we discuss these three steps to take to become a successful social entrepreneur.
As per The Economist, a social entrepreneur is characterised by his/her ability to create innovative solutions to social issues. These could be anything from transformative business models that are consumer-centric or the fintech leader that give back to society without relying on charity or donations. You must have heard of Bangladesh’s Grameen Bank that started a revolution in providing financially weak citizens with microcredit. That’s what a social enterprise is.
Becoming a social entrepreneur is a challenging process. Not everyone has the requisite leadership vision to nurture a business that remains profitable, sustainable, and socially empowering in the long run. Even the best business entrepreneurs struggle with it.
So, how can you pursue your dream of becoming a successful social entrepreneur? How do you join the ranks of various social enterprise startupsthat are leading us into a new era? Let’s find out.
1. Learn how to Transform Problems into Opportunities
The 21st-century is facing a huge wave of complex problems – whether they are social, economic, or environmental. Thus, as an aspiring social entrepreneur, one must first learn to use skills and experience and identify the right issue to pursue. This is where leaders will get to develop a vision for their social enterprise start-ups that will come to define everything – from the kind of solutions they will innovate to the demographic they will impact to the long-term vision of the company.
Above all, spotting the right social transformation opportunity requires an empathetic understanding of society along with a motivation to solve a problem. Here, the best business entrepreneur will be one who has an acute understanding of the gap in the services, solutions, and market and how to address it adequately. Accordingly, one will be able to latch on to the right business model that incorporates social entrepreneurship without compromising on profits and sustainability.
2. Nurture your business on a global scale through strategic connections
Today, the best social enterprises across the world are able to pull off huge funding and investment from the right sources. This is a critical part of the social entrepreneurship business model as it allows one to scale their solutions and truly create a global impact. And how can one pull it off? Through the power of a strategic, reliable network of global investors and entrepreneurs. From strategic partnerships and co-innovation to marketing and sales, a robust network will enable you to realise your social entrepreneurship with the least hiccups on the way.
Here, it is important to clear the misconception that a large network equals a strong network. Social entrepreneurs must learn to trust the quality of quantity – a rule that applies to many facets of a business, including networking. A larger network is also much more difficult and trickier to manage. Thus, be patient with your networking and let it grow organically. Remember, creating a powerful impact through your social entrepreneurship model will automatically nurture global contacts for you.
3. Let others’ failures guide you
The list of entrepreneurs in Indiaand the world in the social category is growing at a rapid pace. But not everyone will be successful. In fact, many prominent ones have tried their hand at social entrepreneurship before and tasted failure. That must not act as a deterrent to any aspiring social entrepreneur. Rather, it should serve as an opportunity to learn and do better.
As a business leader, you are in charge of taking the most important decisions that defy the course of your business. This holds even truer in social entrepreneurship where every choice can have a far-reaching impact on not just your profit and organisation but people and the society at large. Hence, one must learn from the mistakes of other entrepreneurs and then make informed decisions.
Conclusion
By following the above-mentioned three golden principles, you are bound to get closer to your dream of building the ultimate social enterprise. As an Indian business entrepreneur, you have no dearth of issues to focus on and make a difference.
A good example to follow is that of inspiring Indian business entrepreneur, Sanjiv Bajaj, Chairman and Managing Director, Bajaj Finserv,. In order to differentiate the brand from other players and make a real difference to society, Bajaj actively mapped the gap in financial services for India’s Tier 2 and 3 regions. He was also able to sense the need for capital in these regions as more and more people across India began harboring aspirations of entrepreneurship and becoming financially self-reliant.
Thus, Sanjiv Bajaj was able to develop various solutions, including FinTech and digital financial services, to bring financial literacy and accessibility to the masses and completely transform the growth of his business!
Hopefully, by adopting the principles of social entrepreneurship and learning from others, you will be able to transform tomorrow for millions of people.
